Aftermarket Speaker Upgrade

[SpennyUK71]

Has anybody ventured into the aftermarket speaker world for their IS?

I am thinking about replacing the standard speakers in my Executive Edition and a possible sub woofer addition.

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[rmccardal]

Its definitely something I will look at. Having come from a series of Mercs, Audi's and VW's paired with Bose, Dynaudio and Harmon Kardon systems I fear the standard system is not going to cut it for me.

Not sure of the wiring setup or speaker locations so I can't help there, but I am 100% interested!

[SpennyUK71]

I am in contact with an audio company and I plan to look at this further in the coming weeks. I will advise once I have more info.

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[DJP]

Don't know if it'll help but have a look on the club Lexus forum.

www.clublexus.com/forums/is-third-generation.

They seem to love buying their cars and then modding everything in sight!

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[SpennyUK71]

So I have had my local car audio company specify a suitable upgrade as follows:

JL Audio XD 400/4 Amp

Hertz ESK 165L 2 way front component speakers

JL Audio CP Sub/Amp

Audison SLi2 (High to Low converter)

It was recommended not to change the rear door speakers as it was not worth the extra cost.

My car is booked in for next Saturday, so updates will follow after this.

As this is a company lease car I explained that any modifications must be reversible. They explained that the majority of their work is on lease cars these days and that everything (apart from the sub box in the boot) will be hidden with minimal mods and completely reversible. They were currently working on two new Merc lease cars.

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[rmccardal]

Sounds good! Looking forward to the update.

Was that little lot big bucks?

[SpennyUK71]

Yeah, £1,100 including fitting

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[rmccardal]

Probably cheaper and better than ML though!!

Let us know how it goes.

[SpennyUK71]

Exactly! For the ML option I would have to select the F-Sport and fork out an additional £3k for the premium navigation and ML system. As this is a company car I am making a nice little saving by keeping the p11d value down and saving on the options cost.

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[rmccardal]

Where abouts is your installer based? Trying to find a decent installer near me (north bucks)

[SpennyUK71]

FYI, my previous cars were and Audi A4 with the B&O system (this was actually not a bad system) and a Mercedes CLA with the Harmon system (this was aweful).

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[SpennyUK71]

Bristol, maybe a bit too far?

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[rmccardal]

Bit of a trek, but I've gone further for car bits in the past. I will wait to see blown away you are by yours!

[gtb5]

Stock is good enough, don't wanna go through possible aftermarket issues.

[rmccardal]

Good enough for who? Surely that's subjective. Stock audio is usually not good enough for me, so unless Lexus have worked miracles with their 6 speaker stock system I may well deem an upgrade necessary.

[Steve44]

For anyone considering a speaker upgrade, be aware, if you have premium Nav, you get 8 speakers as std. Std stereo comes with 6 and ML comes with 15.

Personally i think the premium nav setup sounds pretty good. I personally didn't like the ML setup - too much treble, not enough mid or bass. Each to their own I suppose.

[rmccardal]

Where are the extra two speakers?

[Steve44]

I've got three across the dash, one on each door and one on the back parcel shelf.

[rmccardal]

Centre dash and parcel shelf then. Guessing the rear one is a sub?!

[Steve44]

It gives a reasonable kick, so guess so! The premium nav has a DVD player and surround sound option so I assume this is why it gets the extra speakers.

[rayaans]

For anyone considering a speaker upgrade, be aware, if you have premium Nav, you get 8 speakers as std. Std stereo comes with 6 and ML comes with 15.

Personally i think the premium nav setup sounds pretty good. I personally didn't like the ML setup - too much treble, not enough mid or bass. Each to their own I suppose.

Its got an equaliser so you can change the sound if you wish to do so.

[Steve44]

The ML system has exactly the same features as the Premium Nav so gets just a treble,mid,bass equalizer. Tried adjusting it, but never got a balance I liked, always too much top end, less midrange and minimal bass.

[SpennyUK71]

W

[rmccardal]

Excuse for a magnet!! Glad its sounding better. How is the 10" sub sounding?

[SpennyUK71]

Wow, what a difference. Such a strong, clean, crisp sounding system. Hugh improvement. However, I think the 10" sub maybe a little big and I will be trying the 8" micro sub to save on boot space.

Here are some additional photos...

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